Signing Day: Statewide roundup

DALLAS — Traylon Shead, one of three 10,000-yard rushers in Texas high school history, is back at the highest level of college football. He will be joined at SMU by Deion Sanders Jr.

The prolific back who signed with Texas out of tiny Cayuga in 2010 spent a year at a junior college not far from his hometown. Shead and the son of Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders signed early with the Mustangs and are already on campus.

Their signings were announced Wednesday, national signingday.

"We think as coaches this is our best-looking class physically, along with our best athletically at all positions, since coming to SMU," said coach June Jones, who is going into his sixth season at the Dallas university.

Shead rushed for 10,298 yards at Cayuga, which at the time was second to the hallowed state record of 11,232 by Sugar Land's Kenneth Hall in the 1950s. He redshirted at Texas in 2010 and played sparingly the next year before deciding to transfer after ending up behind a pair of freshmen in Malcolm Brown and Joe Bergeron.

After leading Navarro College with 1,194 yards and 17 touchdowns in 2012, Shead could be in the backfield with former Texas quarterback Garrett Gilbert, who is coming off a 7-6 season that included a Hawaii Bowl win over Fresno State. The Mustangs have to replace Zach Line, a converted linebacker who had three straight 1,000-yard seasons.

Sanders Jr. played high school football in the Dallas area before spending last year at Atlanta Sports Academy, a prep school. He's listed as a wide receiver but also played cornerback, his dad's position, in high school.

North Texas added four Football Bowl Subdivision transfers among 23 signees. All will be eligible to play in 2013.

Texas State coach Dennis Franchione went heavy on California junior college players in preparation for the Bobcats' first Sun Belt Conference season.

UTSA coach Larry Coker signed 17 defensive players in a 25-player class that will take the Roadrunners into their first Conference USA season. There were 10 defensive backs on the list.

New UTEP coach Sean Kugler signed 18 players, the same number as Rice. Owls coach David Bailiff's list includes 17 players from Texas. The only non-Texan is Canadian offensive lineman Peter Godber.